Community foundation offers former Maynard, Minnesota, school building to Chippewa County

Tom Cherveny, West Central Tribune, Willmar, Minn.
·4 min read

Jan. 17—MONTEVIDEO

— A community group in

Maynard

is offering

Chippewa County

the former MACCRAY West Elementary building as a $1 solution to its need to replace the Family Services offices.

The

Greater Maynard Community Foundation

took ownership of the school facilities and grounds last Friday. It is hopeful of raising $2 million in state bonds and another $2 million in pledges from Maynard supporters to repurpose a portion of the building to serve as offices for the Family Services operations, according to Rick Groothuis, president of the foundation and Maynard's mayor for the past 36 years.

He told the Chippewa County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 17 that the foundation is offering to transfer ownership to the county for $1 while it would take on the bulk of the costs for repurposing the building for use by Family Services. The foundation is hopeful that the Prairie Five Community Action Agency would also move its operations into the facility. That multi-county organization would need to bear the costs for repurposing its portion of the building.

"People in the community and local farmers are really hoping this will happen," Ron Fagen, a Maynard alum and founder of Fagen Inc., told the commissioners. He and the mayor were joined by architect Richard Engan, of Engan Associates of Willmar, in outlining the proposal and cost estimates.

The building has "good bones," ample space, a modern kitchen and other amenities that would allow for it to be readily repurposed as a modern office facility, according to Fagen. Engan concurred that the building is in good shape and can be repurposed.

Engan estimates it will cost roughly $3.2 million to upgrade 14,000 square feet of the facility for use by Family Services. He estimates the costs for upgrading an additional 20,000 square feet for Prairie Five Community Action Agency at $4.5 million.

Engan said the structure is sound, but there is work needed. The biggest need is for a new heating and utility system. He cautioned that the cost estimates were developed without the benefit of a meeting with Family Services staff to define the department's needs.

Family Services and Prairie Five Community Action Agency are located in the original Chippewa County hospital building at 719 N. Seventh St. in Montevideo. A 2018 study by Klein McCarthy Architects recommended either completely remodeling or replacing the facility.

A study last year by the firm offered different options for replacing the Family Services facility, all of them costly. The options ranged from an $11.4 million remodeling of the courthouse to accommodate the Family Services office to building a $21 million facility to hold Family Services along with Countryside Public Health, Prairie Five, and 6W Community Corrections.

The commissioners are looking instead at finding an existing building. Chairman Matt Gilbertson told the Maynard representatives that the county recently made an offer on a former bank building in Montevideo.

The chairman said the commissioners have toured the Maynard facility, and had huge discussions on what to do. Moving the Family Services operations to Maynard would present a number of challenges.

Staff with Family Services and those with law enforcement, the courts and Prairie Five often work together with many of the same clients. Separating that relationship would create logistical issues, he and Commissioner Dave Norduane said.

Commissioner Dave Lieser said there are also concerns about staffing needs. The department employs more than 40 people.

Moving Prairie Five to Maynard would also present challenges, according to Gilbertson. A number of its clients do not have their own means of transportation.

The logistical challenges can be met, Groothuis and Fagen told the commissioners. Fagen said he would purchase a bus for the county for daily transport if that would help. Groothuis said the school facility also has space where the sheriff and service providers could locate satellite offices.

The offer from Maynard makes 100% financial sense for the county, Fagen told the commissioners.

"A businessman would say this is what I would choose right here," he said. "We'll figure out how to get people there and make that work."

Groothuis said Maynard has invested in employing a caretaker and committed the funds necessary to heating and maintaining the facility until it can be repurposed. The community is losing population, and the closing of the elementary school "certainly didn't help our situation."

People are down about the loss, and worried about the ability to attract young people to the community, the mayor said. He said he is fearful of what will happen if the community does not find a new use for the facility.

"Please consider it," he said of the city's offer. "We really want to save Maynard," said Groothuis.